Two a penny

.The New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is refusing to comment on speculation it is about to release the findings of an investigation into the Iguanas nightclub dispute involving Federal MP Belinda Neal and her husband, state MP John Della Bosca.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the office of the DPP is expected to deliver its findings as early as Friday, but the couple says they have had no advice on the matter.
The matter was later referred to the NSW and Commonwealth DPP.
NSW police investigated allegations the couple bullied and threatened staff at the Iguanas nightclub at Gosford in June, as well as contradictory statutory declarations written by those involved.
Mr Della Bosca was stripped of his portfolios pending the outcome of the investigation.
Since then, Mr Della Bosca has repeatedly said he expects to be cleared and returned to the ministry in the education and industrial relations portfolios.

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NSW Premier Morris Iemma has always said Mr Della Bosca will be reappointed if cleared by the DPP

.The chief executive of Sydney Youth Orchestra says they are planning their first tour of central Australia for next year.
Susanne James plans to bring up to 100 young musicians from Sydney to give workshops in Alice Springs, perform educational programs in schools and give a concert at Uluru.
“It’s going to be really exciting, because it’s truly one of the most amazing experiences to come to your part of the world,” she said.
Ms James says she was inspired by the mayor of Alice Springs to bring the orchestra to the desert.
She also says she is planning a varied repertoire to catch the attention of younger people.
Ms James says, if successful, the SYO may make regular trips to the outback.
“Just this year we have done some percussion workshops with youths off the streets, so they can see that you don’t have to be a classical musician with years and years of experience and very expensive instruments.
“One of the things that we’ve done in the past is to send our percussion students out to work in improvisation workshops,” she said.”

.The New South Wales Greens say they have serious concerns about dredging work that is due to begin in Botany Bay as part of a $1 billion port expansion.
The expansion will see five new shipping berths built on 60 hectares of land being reclaimed from Botany Bay.
“This dredging will simply put the area under too much stress and the environmental damage will be extensive,” she said.
Greens MP Lee Rhiannon is worried the work will stir up toxic soil on the bottom of the bay.
“The Government is trying to argue that they will take various remedial measures, but the experts that are advising the Greens have no confidence that this will lessen the damage,” she said.
Ms Rhiannon says the dredging could lead to tidal changes, and disturb fish and bird breeding grounds.”
The Government says protecting the environment will be a priority of the expansion project, but it concedes the work will have some short-term effects.
“The clear answer here is that that the dredging should not go ahead.
“There will be some minor disruptions, there’s no doubt about that, but what we will do is make sure the environmental impacts are limited and temporary, and at the same time we’ll seek to minimise the disruption to recreational users,” he said.
Ports Minister Joe Tripodi says he is confident the right environmental safeguards are in place.
“A whole range of environmental measures have been put in place, including the use of silt curtains designed to catch sediment preventing it from flowing into the remaining parts of the water,” he said.
Mr Tripodi says disruption will be kept to a minimum over the expected 12 month duration of the dredging work.
Work on the port expansion is due to finish in 2011.

.The first of four meetings for former customers of Beechwood Homes will outline how long it may take for homes to be completed.
Resibuildco representative Vic Cavasinni and the insurer, Vero, will today meet with former Beechwood customers in Parramatta.
Ms Burney says people with pre-contract plans should get more information before making their final decisions.
Mr Cavasinni says the process of taking over more than 360 contracts for partially completed homes is happening, but it is a slow process
Fair Trading Minister Linda Burney says homes will be completed but some people may end up paying more for their homes if they take up contracts with the new owner.
“There may be some increases in building costs, but I would imagine these to be fairly minimal.
“There are no guarantees but the people that are pre-contract – those that haven’t had their homes started – will definitely be picked up by the new owner,” she said.”

.Slim hopes are held for the survival of a baby humpback whale separated from its mother in Sydney’s north.
The whale is being closely monitored by the rescuers after being found yesterday at Pittwater and lured to Broken Bay heads.
A spokesman for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, John Dengate, says its only chance is to link up with other whales and particularly its mother.
The state Environment Department says the calf is between two to three weeks old and would be very difficult to feed artificially given it is so reliant on its mother’s milk.
“We’re absolutely on tenterhooks as to what might happen and I guess we’ll just see.
“We can only hope that the little whale has found its mum or has found a female that can look after it and there will be a happy ending,” he said.”

.A man attempted to abduct a 14-year old girl in Sydney’s north-west yesterday afternoon.
Police say the schoolgirl was walking home along Barlow Street in Cambridge Park just before 3:30pm when she heard a vehicle behind her.
It is believed he then got out of the car, approached her from behind and grabbed her by the upper left arm.
The girl says the man called out and offered her a lift home but she refused and continued walking.
The man is described as being of white/European appearance, medium build, about 170 centimetres tall with brown hair.
The girl managed to free herself and ran home.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
His car is described as a dark green late model vehicle.

.The Wests Tigers face must-win games against two of the top NRL teams, Manly and the Sharks, after a 28-point loss to Parramatta last night cost them a share of eighth place.
Eels star Feleti Mateo hurt his knee late in the match but has been cleared of major injury.
Eels coach Michael Hagan says he was pleased with his team’s performance last night.
Parramatta is now within a win of the NRL top eight, to join the Tigers on 24 points.
“Physically, we were very good.
“I think our performance was reasonably dominant,” he said. I did hear that a couple of times this week in dispatches. We did not talk about the fact that we have won the last six times against them.”
Parramatta second rower Nathan Hindmarsh says the team discussed its poor form early this month and vowed to turn its season around.
“We wouldn’t mind playing them every week at the moment.
“We are working more as a team together.
“We had a bit of a yarn a couple of weeks ago about attitude and I think it is showing now,” he said. Forwards are supporting forwards where usually we just throw them in one-out.”

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan : Under pressure over impending impeachment charges, President Pervez Musharraf announced he would resign Monday, ending close toly nine years as the head of one of the United States' most important allies in the campaign against;terrorism.
Speaking on television from his presidential office here at 1 p., Musharraf, dressed in a gray suit and tie, said that after consulting with his aides, “I have decided to resign today.m.”
“Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose,” he said, adding that he was not prepared to put the office of the presidency through the impeachment;process.” He said he was putting national interest above “personal;bravado.”
“They don't realize they can succeed against me but the country will undergo irreparable;damage.
Musharraf said the governing coalition, which has pushed for impeachment, had tried to “turn lies into;truths. But there were intense concerns in Washington that Musharraf's departure would open a new era of instability in the nuclear-armed country of 165 million people, as the fragile coalition jockeys for his share of;power.”

In an emotional ending to a speech lasting more than an hour, Musharraf raised his clenched fists to chest height, and said, “Long live;Pakistan!”
His resignation came after 10 days of intense political maneuvering in Pakistan, and cleared the way for the four-month-old coalition government to choose a new president by a vote of the Parliament and provincial assemblies. She also thanked Musharraf for his efforts against;terrorism.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to stresss continuity with the new leaders of Pakistan on Monday, saying the United States would keep pressing the Pakistani government to battle extremism within its borders. The coalition, led by Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and Nawaz Sharif, the chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, were scheduled to meet here in the capital Monday afternoon to discuss the way forward, Khan;said.
Musharraf, 65, will stay in Pakistan in the immediate future, a request he had insisted on, according to Nasir Ali Khan, a senior member of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, a partner in the coalition. According to the Constitution, a new president must be chosen within 30 days.
There were few indications of who the next president would be. But Sharif, who maintains a barely civil relationship with Zardari, is strongly opposed to the elevation of;Zardari. American officials have said that Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister who was assassinated in December, would like the post. The charges were centered on “gross violations” of the Constitution, according to the minister of information, Sherry;Rehman.
Musharraf has been under strong pressure in the past few days, as the coalition said it had completed a charge sheet to take to Parliament for his impeachment.
In his speech, Musharraf tore into the coalition for what he called their failed economic policies.
The rhetoric from the coalition mounted over the weekend, but the leading politicians wavered on an exact date for bringing the charges, thus leaving a window for Musharraf to;leave. In contrast, he said, his policies had brought prosperity out of close to economic collapse when he took charge in;1999. He said Pakistan's critical economic situation — a declining currency, capital flight, soaring inflation — was their responsibility. Although Pakistan's literacy rate hovers around 50 percent, and is much lower among women, he took credit for new;schools. Although Pakistan's literacy rate hovers around 50 percent, and is much lower among women, he took credit for new;schools.
The army, the most powerful institution in Pakistan, stayed publicly above the fray in the past 10 days. But in remaining studiously neutral and declining to come to Musharraf's rescue, the new leader of the army, General Ashfaq Parvaz Kayani, tipped the scales against the president, politicians;said.
Musharraf grabbed power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, ousting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the man who had picked Musharraf as army chief. For eight years, he ruled as head of the army and president, positions that gave him almost unfettered power and allowed the Bush administration to rely on Musharraf in the campaign on;terrorism.
In recognition of this, Rice described him Monday as “one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism.”"We will continue to work with the Pakistani government and political leaders and urge them to redouble their focus on Pakistan's future and its most urgent needs, including stemming the growth of extremism, addressing food and energy deficits, and improving economic stability,” Rice said in a statement. “The United States will help with these efforts to see Pakistan reach its goal of becoming a stable, prosperous, democratic, modern, Muslim;nation.”

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ISLAMABAD : The likely new government lineup in Pakistan following the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf on Monday – a civilian coalition composed of two rival political parties – will undoubtedly remain an ally of the United States in the campaign against;terror.
But the question for Washington will be how firmly it can fix the attention of the two leaders of the governing political parties, Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, on the raging Taliban insurgency in the tribal areas that threatens American soldiers in Afghanistan and is destabilizing Pakistan;itself.
Moreover, the threat from the extremists presents different dangers to the United States and Pakistan.
Neither Zardari nor Sharif have shown much interest in the nexus of the Taliban and Al Qaeda that has found sanctuary and strength in Pakistan's badlands along the border with;Afghanistan.
As the end of the George W. At the same time, suspicions between the countries' intelligence agencies are;deepening.S. Bush administration and the start of a new era in Washington draw close to, the major U.

First, the United States wants to prevent Al Qaeda from preparing another attack on the United States from the safety and seclusion of the lawless tribal region; second, the U. concerns about Pakistan, a poor, nuclear-armed country with 160 million people, are;twofold. military is demanding that Pakistan stop Taliban fighters from crossing the border into;Afghanistan.S. Many of the 60 suicide bomb attacks last year, and indeed, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December, have been attributed to the Pakistani;Taliban.
For Pakistan, the Taliban threat is a domestic one: In the past month, for example, more than 130 girls' schools have been burned by the Taliban in the region of Swat alone, and in the past 10 days there have been daily casualties in clashes in the tribal areas between the insurgents and the military.
The coalition that emerged triumphant Monday in fact is a fragile coalition that could fall apart in the coming months.
Even with a civilian government in control of Parliament, Washington will continue to concentrate its anti-terror efforts on General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the chief of army staff, who succeeded Musharraf as military chief last November, said Aftab Ahmed;Sherpao.
But, Sherpao, a former minister of the interior whose parliamentary district borders the tribal region, said the coalition government had a poor comprehension of the conflict in the tribal zone, and little;cohesion. So just as the Bush administration saw Musharraf when he was army chief as “an indispensable ally,” Washington almost surely sees Kayani in the same way, albeit with a civilian component alongside him, Sherpao;said.”
Zardari, Bhutto's widower and now head of the Pakistan People's Party, and Nawaz, a former prime minister and head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, are two different types of;politicians.
For that reason, he suggested, “the Americans will be monitoring the situation more intensely, 24 hours a;day. Prime Minster Yousaf Razi Gilani, who was selected by Zardari for the post, made a poor impression during his first visit to the White House last;month.
Zardari, a controversial businessman with little experience in government, is a virtual unknown in Washington.
That reputation should be put aside, said General Jehangir Karamat, a former army chief of staff who served as the Pakistani ambassador to Washington in the early Musharraf;era.
Nawaz is better known, but his inclination to introduce Shariah laws in the late 1990s left doubts in Washington about his commitment to putting down the;extremists. I think he understands the gravity of the situation,” Karamat said of Sharif, who spent eight years in exile in Saudi Arabia. I think he understands the gravity of the situation,” Karamat said of Sharif, who spent eight years in exile in Saudi Arabia. “He realizes how the insurgency can destabilize. He needs to be listened to. He is there now – you can't walk around;him.”
Washington's chief complaint about Pakistan in recent months has centered on what it contends is substantial support of the Taliban by the all-powerful Inter-Services Intelligence;agency.
The CIA has depended heavily on the ISI for information about militants in Pakistan, and had kept quiet about longstanding concerns about divided loyalties within the Pakistani spy service. It was felt, Washington officials said, that the ISI was too important to;alienate.
But those qualms have vanished in the last few months as the attacks on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan from the Taliban have;mounted.
On a visit to Islamabad last month Stephen Kappes, the CIA's deputy director, gave Gilani evidence of the ISI involvement with Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani, a Taliban operator with close links to Al Qaeda. As well, Kappes lay down evidence of ISI connections to the suicide bombing attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on July;7.

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YANGON, Myanmar : The main Myanmar main opposition party said Sunday that it hoped a visit this week by a special envoy from the United Nations would help restart stalled talks between the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling military;junta.
The special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, who is promoting national reconciliation and democratic reform in Myanmar, is to spend five days in the country starting;Monday. Gambari would be able to revive the stalled dialogue,” said Nyan Win, spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for;Democracy.
“We hope that Mr.
On Sunday, Aung San Suu Kyi met her lawyer, Kyi Win, for the second time in two weeks.
He said the UN-brokered talks between a junta-appointed minister, Aung Kyi, and Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, began in October 2007 but stopped in January after five;meetings.

On Aug. The meeting at her lakeside house lasted more than four hours, according to a neighbor who demanded anonymity as a result of the sensitive nature of the;issue.
Nyan Win said last week that Aung San Suu Kyi had consulted her lawyer about the detention law under which she has been confined without trial for more than 12 of the past 19;years. 8, Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed the first meeting with her lawyer in five;years.
Gambari last visited Myanmar in March, a trip he described as a disappointment.
This will be Gambari's fourth visit to the country since the military junta violently suppressed antigovernment protests last September, setting off a global;outcry.
The military has ruled the Southeast Asian nation since 1962 and has been widely criticized for suppressing basic freedoms and human;rights. Although he was allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi he had no access to senior junta;leaders.